cabestan

From Middle French cabestant, of uncertain origin. Either from Old Occitan cabestran (“instrument to coil cords”), a noun use of present participle of verb cabestrar, from cabestre (“pulley rope”) ; or from Spanish cabestrante, cabrestante, from cabestrar (“to bind with a halter”), from cabestro (“halter”), from Latin capistrum (“halter”), from capere (“to hold”) (see capacious); or perhaps the Spanish is from Latin caper (“goat”) + -stans, present participle of stare (“to stand”) ; confer French chèvre (“she-goat”), also a machine for raising heavy weights.

• IPA^(key): /ka.bɛ.stɑ̃/

cabestan m (plural cabestans)

1. capstan (vertical cleated drum or cylinder)

• “cabestan” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).